Prophet Jeremiah and Apostle John were both young when their obedience began, but neither treated their youth as an excuse to be silent. We live in an age that celebrates charisma but neglects conviction. We are raising platforms faster than we are building altars. Jeremiah’s call began with fire in the bones, not followers on a list. John’s revelation came after years of obscurity, not after a viral clip. The real work of ministry has always required solitude, depth and courage to speak against the drift.
Both Jeremiah and John were men of revelation, but their revelations were not for self-promotion. Jeremiah did not use his visions to brand himself; he used them to turn hearts back to God. John did not turn his mystical experiences into a personal empire; he used them to strengthen the church under persecution. Their lives confront a modern problem — we have learned to market the message more than we meditate. The prophet and apostle both remind us that the goal of revelation is transformation, not visibility.
When Jeremiah rebuked priests and princes, he was accused of being unpatriotic. When John warned false teachers, he was dismissed by those who considered him too extreme. Every generation repeats this cycle. Prophets are always uncomfortable people to have around because they disrupt convenience. They remind us that God’s word does not bend to culture.
The lesson is clear for young ministers today: calling is not defined by applause, but by assignment. To carry the burden of God is to risk being misunderstood. To see His vision is to speak even when silence would be safer. Youth doesn’t disqualify you from the truth; it often sharpens your sensitivity to it. Revelation must mature into responsibility otherwise it becomes noise.
The church does not need more celebrity pastors; It needs more prophetic voices, men who speak correction without bitterness and vision without vanity. Jeremiah’s tears and John’s vision are two halves of the same ministry, one warns, the other restores, both serving same God.
It is striking that Jeremiah’s ministry began with tears and John’s ended with light. One stood in Jerusalem’s ruins; the other saw the New Jerusalem descending from heaven. The arc between them is the story of divine patience. What Jeremiah lamented, John later witnessed redeemed. That pattern should encourage every faithful servant: God never wastes the pain of obedience.
We need the courage of Jeremiah and clarity of John, men who will speak the truth to the church out of burden and not anger. Men, who will love enough to correct, and see far enough to restore. Men, who will not be silenced by their youth, nor corrupted by their visibility. The burdens and revelations of God have never respected age or pedigree. Heaven still chooses unlikely messengers. The question is not who is qualified, but who is willing to carry the weight.
• Sunday Ogidigbo, Senior Pastor, Holyhill Church, Abuja. Twitter/Instagram/Facebook: @Sogidigbo. Email: [email protected]
